Before the invention of paper, people used sharp tools as pens to carve words on bamboo slips to remember things, or scrape off typos with a knife, which is the origin of the knife and pen. Later derived to write articles, write the brief. It is no coincidence that there is also a story of a “good use of knife and pen to help the world and save people” in the Qing Dynasty’s “Sitting Flower Zhiguo”.
Writing a false complaint for a person, the gods cut off his merit
In Yangzhou, there was a Chinese Prime Minister Wang who lost his father when he was young. His Family was poor, so he wrote a false report for someone to support his mother. When Wang was in his twenties, he failed in several autumn exams. On New Year’s Eve one year, Wang dreamed that two men in green brought him to a tall and imposing government office, where an emperor was sitting in the lobby next to two officials in red, holding a long list of documents. After The Emperor used a pen to check the judgment, he summoned Wang Sheng to come in.
The emperor’s face was very stern and he threw him a booklet. Wang Sheng knelt on the ground and saw his name on the booklet, and underneath it was written that he should have won a certain examination and been admitted to the Hanlin, with the rank of governor. However, because Wang Zhongcheng had written a false statement for someone in good conscience, his merit was cut off.
The emperor tapped the case and asked him, “Do you see clearly the crime you have committed?” Wang Sheng kept kowtowing and thanking him for his crime. The emperor said, “I think you serve your mother very filially, if you change your ways immediately, you can still return your merit. If you don’t change, you will have to be killed in the future!” After saying this, he ordered his officials to take Wang Sheng away.
The official dressed in green said to Wang Sheng, “What the emperor has just decided is the autumn list for next year. If you can change your ways and become good, you can still be on the list. Don’t forget the emperor’s painstaking efforts to teach you!” After saying that, he pushed Wang Sheng with his hand.
Change your faults and move to goodness Help people with your sword and pen
Wang Sheng woke up from his dream and saw that the light was still on, although it was still early, he was already sleepy and recalled the scene in his dream vividly. Wang Sheng thought, “My family is poor, how should I do good deeds? Now he changed his profession and put down his sword and pen, how could he make up for the sins he had made before?
He thought and thought and thought, and then suddenly a light dawned on him: If a sword and pen can harm people, can’t I use it to save people? If I follow the righteous path, I can surely get the protection of God. Wang Sheng made up his mind, so he put on his clothes and went to Wenchang Palace at dawn to burn incense and pray for a change of heart.
From then on, whenever he met someone who wanted to file a lawsuit, Wang Sheng tried to mediate the conflict; for those who had no reason to argue, he tried to explain the reasoning; for those who had a reason but could not argue, he used his own wisdom to help them write the lawsuit. Wang Sheng persisted in this good deed for nearly a year, and then he won the first place in the supplementary government school and could receive a portion of the government’s monthly subsidy, so he worked even harder to do good deeds.
Keeping the name of mother and son, not accepting honorarium
There was a young widow in his village who was pregnant with her son. One day, a member of her clan sued the government for falsely accusing the widow, saying that the child she was carrying was not her husband’s flesh and blood, and begging the government to break the Marriage contract with her husband’s family and not to allow her child to inherit the family property.
The widow’s mother’s family was too weak and afraid to speak up for her. The widow was unable to defend her grievances and cried all day long, seeking death to show her innocence. An old lady heard about this and came to tell Wang Sheng. After a careful investigation, Wang Sheng confirmed that the young woman was an innocent person, so he personally went to her mother’s house and wrote a complaint for them, asking her mother to sue the official.
After this petition was handed to the government, Wang Sheng gathered his classmates and local respected old men and told them that the governor was going to preach the holy bull at the Temple of Literature on the first day of the year, and he was going to bring up the case then.
Some people said that they had nothing to do with this matter and were unwilling to come forward. Wang Sheng said, “I am undertaking this lawsuit to preserve the chastity of the orphans and widows, and it is a matter of village morals and has a great impact, which is what a scholar should do, not for personal gain. If the government blames me, I will bear the blame alone!” Everyone felt his benevolence and was willing to support him.
On the day when the magistrate delivered the bull, Wang Sheng publicly presented the details of the case of the widow falsely accused by his clan members. The magistrate was very sensible and appreciated Wang Sheng’s straightforwardness and clarity of speech. A few days later, the court hearing, the clan was asked to be justified, have admitted that the widow was falsely accused, the young woman’s injustice was cleared.
The young woman’s mother’s family offered a hundred taels of gratitude to Wang Sheng, but Wang Sheng insisted on not accepting it, saying, “Am I doing this for the sake of your gratuity?” The family felt ashamed and left.
Establishing himself for good deeds, God rewarded him with merit
On New Year’s Eve of that year, Wang Sheng dreamed again that the two men in green brought him to the government office. This Time the emperor said in a pleasant manner, “I admire you for changing your ways so quickly, and have now returned your merit name to you. The original intention was to let you get the title in the next examination, but because your good deeds of protecting the orphans and widows have touched the heaven, you will win the examination this year. You should work harder, cultivate more good virtues and don’t slacken off, your future will be great and unlimited! Wang Sheng kowtowed to him and thanked him again and again.
When Wang Sheng left the government office, he saw an old man and a young man kneeling by the roadside to thank him: “I am grateful to you for your kindness, for preserving my descendants and our land and property. We, father and son, have nothing to return. We have been waiting here for you since we heard the emperor summoned you just now!” Only then did Wang Sheng understand that they were the widow’s father-in-law and husband.
The old man pointed to the young man and said, “I know you don’t have a son yet, sir, so I will ask the Underworld to let him be reborn as your son to repay your kindness.” In the dream, Wang Sheng got lost on his way back, and fortunately someone gave him a ride Home. That person was none other than the God of Zao. When Wang Sheng woke up, he told his mother and wife about his dream experience, and immediately burned incense and bowed to thank the God of Zao.
From then on, he was more diligent in doing good deeds, and in the same year he won the Jieyuan exam, entered the Hanlin, and became a grand chancellor (inspector). In the year Wang Sheng won the examination, his wife gave birth to a son, and in a flash he saw the young man he met in his dream walk into the house. Later, Wang Sheng’s son also became a high official because he passed the imperial examination.
Wang Daoding, the owner of Sitting Flower, commented on the incident, saying, “Although the knife and pen can save people, it was Wang Sheng’s first creation, but only because many people did not think of it. How can the profession that can be used for the benefit of people be limited to this line of work?”
According to the next volume of the book, “The Flowery Flowers and the Fruits: Wang Zhongcheng
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